That drop in demand, combined with the price reduction for crude, helped cut the average price of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline in Connecticut to $1.65 a gallon Wednesday, down from $1.67 last week and $1.70 a month ago.

Prices had held steady at about $1.70 through much of October and November, according to figures from the American Automobile Association.

``There's just not a lot of travel this time of year,'' said Michael J. Fox, executive director of the state's gasoline retailers association. ``Demand is pretty low now. But the biggest thing is the big drop in crude oil.''

In trading Wednesday in London, futures prices for Brent crude oil continued to fall, to $24.70 a barrel -- $10.30, or nearly 30 percent, less than a peak of $35 in mid-October.

Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped to $27.37 a barrel Wednesday, down 26 percent from a 12-month high of $37.20.

Although the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has opened the spigot recently and allowed prices to drop, the oil ministers have indicated that they expect to retighten the supply in 2001.

``OPEC seems to have put a little more oil out on the market, and that has pushed it below $30 per barrel,'' said Steven S. Guveyan, executive director of the Connecticut Petroleum Council, which represents major oil companies.

``But they clearly sent the message to the market: `Don't get used to this.' The message they were sending was: `We're not going to let prices crash for the summer driving season.' ''

Although gasoline was dropping the most, the average price for diesel fuel fell by two cents since last week, to $1.79 a gallon, and home heating oil fell by about a penny.

At an average of $1.54 a gallon, home heating oil is two cents higher than it was one month ago and 21 cents higher than it was on Sept. 5 -- the day the state Office of Policy and Management began its weekly winter survey.

Average prices have dropped three cents since they peaked in late November.